Don’t be fooled by Trump’s National Park Service photo-op (“Sean Spicer made a big show of handing over the president’s salary, but his budget slashes the Department of the Interior by 12 percent.” Disgusting — but I bet there are actually people out there who will fall for this crap.)

What the optimists get wrong about Trump’s climate policies (“I tend to think the This Is Very Bad view is closer to the mark here. What the optimistic view misses is that we were making woefully insufficient progress on climate change even before Trump. Yes, coal is declining and renewables are booming in the electricity sector. But that’s only a tiny slice of the climate problem. If we really want to stop global warming, we’d need sweeping changes to virtually every sector of the economy — and fast. Even under Obama, we weren’t close to doing that. The US wasn’t even on pace to meet its (weak) Paris climate targets. They look extra-impossible now.” Agreed.)

Tim Kaine’s Dishonorable Distortion on Gorsuch (Fascinating that Ramesh Ponnuru and his fellow right wingnuts are so bent out of shape over what Tim Kaine believes Neil Gorsuch thinks about contraception. Do these right wingnuts really think that Gorsuch is a friend of women’s reproductive rights?)

Alexandria, VA – Monday night, candidate for governor of Virginia Ed Gillespie declared he would “like to see abortion banned” and affirmed he would support a 20-week abortion ban and the expansion of predatory TRAP laws designed to shut down clinics by enforcing medically unnecessary building codes on health clinics that provide abortions.

“Ed Gillespie’s comments are despicable and show just how much is on the line for Virginia women and our families in this election. With Donald Trump in the White House and his pal Ed Gillespie in the Governor’s Mansion, the rights and freedoms we enjoy as Virginians would be under assault like never before,” said Tarina Keene, executive director of NARAL Pro-Choice Virginia. “That’s why we need a principled, progressive leader who will fight back against Trump, not someone who will compromise our most basic rights for the sake of political expediency. Ralph Northam will stand up to bullies like Donald Trump and Ed Gillespie, and that’s why Virginia families need him fighting for us in Richmond.”

Since his first run for office in 2007, Dr. Northam has consistently opposed attacks on abortion and birth control. Throughout his political career he has been an outspoken, affirmative champion for expanding access to the services women need to make the reproductive decision that are right for themselves and their families, including the right to access abortion care. He fought back against the anti-choice agenda on issue after issue in the Virginia state Senate and as Lieutenant Governor, including the mandatory ultrasound bill. He has also used his expertise as a physician to champion proactive reproductive health measures such as expanded access to long-acting contraceptives like IUDs.

NARAL Pro-Choice Virginia and NARAL Pro-Choice America have both endorsed Lieutenant Governor Ralph Northam for governor and will use the full force of their grassroots power to elect him to be Virginia’s next pro-choice governor.

WASHINGTON – Congressman A. Donald McEachin (VA-04) issued this statement recognizing Equal Pay Day 2017 and the need to pass legislation that will finally eliminate the gender wage gap that continues in America:

“Today is the day that marks when in 2017 a woman will have earned as much as a man did in 2016, on average, because of the gender wage gap. It is unacceptable to have a gender wage gap more than 50 years after the Equal Pay Act was signed into law. This wage gap directly impacts hardworking families and their children because many women are the sole source of income for their family. The wage gap has broad ramifications and must be part of a united effort for all aspects of women’s rights which includes paid leave, workplace discrimination rights, and access to affordable health care.

“Unfortunately, the gender wage gap is more drastic within communities of color. Black women, Latina women, and Native American women lose thousands in earnings over their lifetimes compared to white men. Women and their families cannot afford this disparity to continue. It is beyond time to close the wage gap. If we act now, future generations will see wage inequality as archaic as it is. As the son of a public school teacher and father of two daughters, I believe this issue directly impacts us all.

“In Virginia, women working full-time are paid an average of 78 cents for every dollar paid to men. African American women make a mere 59 cents and Latina women only 52 cents for every dollar a white man makes. A lifetime of lower pay burdens women’s retirement savings, economic opportunities, access to healthcare, and overall quality of life. I introduced a bill to ensure that Virginia women receive equal pay for equal work in the General Assembly because I was dedicated to advocating for women’s rights at the state level. I will not waver in my determination at the federal level. I proudly stand with my colleagues in this fight for gender equity by cosponsoring the Equal Pay Day Resolution, the Paycheck Fairness Act, and the Global HER Act. I call on my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to come together to pass these comprehensive bills so that this is the last year we need experience the gender wage gap.”

Quizzical

Re Virginia expansion of Medicaid – good luck with that, fellas: The RTD editorial says nothing about the 10.4 billion dollars that Virginia has forfeited so far by not expanding Medicaid. Why isn’t that relevant? To me it seems like 10 billion dollars has been taken out of Virginia’s healthcare system. Second, there is no mention of the fact that timely access to healthcare would help keep some percentage of the recipients of Medicaid from becoming too sick or hurt to work any more, and off disability. While there are costs to expanding healthcare, there are also benefits in terms of maintaining a healthy, productive workforce. Third, with the run up to a repeal and replace bill that we have already seen, it became clear that there was going to be a long transition period and that the states that had expanded Medicaid were not going to be left just “holding the bag.” I think there is more risk that Virginia will be treated unfairly as compared to what the states which have expanded Medicaid have received and will receive.